A Carbon Nanotube with its unique properties are a big breakthrough for electronics. Due to their thermal conductivity, mechanical and electrical properties, they find applications as additives to various structural materials. A team of Stanford engineers have taken this and built a basic computer harnessing the huge energy conservation capabilities and thereby promising to extend 'Moore's Law' for years to come.

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore's 1965 prediction that computer circuitry will keep getting smaller and cheaper to produce has held up. But as integrated circuits (ICs) keep getting more densely populated with transistors, the large amounts of heat they dissipate have prompted concerns over whether silicon can be used for many more generations of transistor shrinkage.

"People have been talking about a new era of carbon nanotube electronics moving beyond silicon. But there have been few demonstrations of complete digital systems using this exciting technology. Here is the proof," Mitra said in a statement.

Mihail Roco, senior advisor for Nanotechnology at the National Science Foundation, called the Stanford work "an important, scientific breakthrough". The research was led by Stanford professors Subhasish Mitra and H.S. Philip Wong.